Durban - Acting Public Protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka has written to her suspended boss, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, telling her not to return to work despite the Western Cape High Court declaring her suspension by President Cyril Ramaphosa invalid.
This came as the Democratic Alliance has also applied for leave to appeal the High Court’s decision at the Constitutional Court, saying the High Court decision had no effect and was subject to confirmation by the highest court in the land.
The Western Cape High Court on Friday made a ruling declaring President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to suspend Mkhwebane invalid, saying it had been retaliatory in nature and motivated by her decision to investigate the theft at his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
Ramaphosa failed to report the theft to the police. The ruling is another spanner in the works for Ramaphosa who is increasingly under pressure from political parties who have ramped up their call for him to vacate his office.
Writing to Mkhwebane on Friday, Gcaleka said that the attorneys of record for the Public Protector of South Africa had advised that an appeal to the Constitutional Court against the judgment of the Western Cape High Court had been filed on Friday evening. Gcaleka said that the filing of the appeal effectively suspended the High Court order, meaning Mkhwebane’s suspension remained effective.
Ramaphosa suspended Mkhwebane in June in what he said was in accordance with Section 194(3)(a) of the Constitution, which provided for the president to suspend the public protector, or any member of a Chapter 9 institution, “at any time after the start of proceedings by a committee of the National Assembly for (their) removal”.
While opposition parties in the National Assembly marched to the Public Protector’s Office to demand that Gcaleka release the report into the Farmgate theft in which around $4 million of Ramaphosa’s money was stolen, the High Court dealt Ramaphosa a blow by setting aside his suspension of Mkhwebane.
The court on Friday ruled that Ramaphosa’s decision to suspend Mkhwebane had been motivated by Mkhwebane’s decision to investigate the theft at his Phala Phala Game Farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the court had rightfully and logically found the ongoing suspension of the public protector had been triggered by her decision to investigate Ramaphosa, “exposing him as a tyrant who misuses his presidential prerogative to hide his corruption and criminality”. “The court scathingly found that the suspension of Mkhwebane, which came a day after she began investigating him, was premised on bias, improper motive and a conflict of interest,” Tambo said.
Tambo added this simply meant that Ramaphosa, as president of South Africa, used his powers to intimidate and remove those who dared investigate him. IFP Member of Parliament Narend Singh said the High Court’s decision was a wake-up call for the president in terms of taking action hurriedly. “The judiciary has spoken and we respect the rights of the judiciary to make rulings and we just have to see whether the Constitutional Court reaffirms that particular decision because it’s not binding until the Constitutional Court does so,” Singh said.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the Presidency had noted the ruling handed down by the Western Cape High Court, stating that Ramaphosa’s decision to suspend Mkhwebane was invalid. “The Presidency will seek guidance from the Constitution on the next steps,” Magwenya said.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE